FindArticles was a website which provided access to articles previously published in over 3,000 magazines, journals, and other sources.[1][2] The site offered free and paid content through the HighBeam Research database.[1] In 2008, FindArticles accessed over 11 million resource articles, going back to 1998.[3][4][5]

The site was founded in 2000 as a partnership between LookSmart, which authored the search technology, and the Gale Group, which provided the articles.[3][4] The two companies had first partnered to provide content in August of that year, and FindArticles.com soon resulted.[6] As it grew, FindArticles moved away from an all-free model driven by advertising[4][7] to a mixture of free and paid content.

The site remained a part of LookSmart throughout the various changes in that company until it was sold to CNET Networks for $20.5 million on November 8, 2007, as part of a larger sell-off of LookSmart properties.[5][8] Looksmart's need to offload non-critical assets in the wake of poor corporate performance, along with CNET's commensurate desire to expand its library of offerings, motivated the deal.[5] FindArticles' SEO value—i.e., the frequency with which its articles appear as search engine results—likely factored into the final purchase price.[5][9]